Research

Smokers swayed by clever tobacco packages, professor warns
A recent study suggests that cigarette packages are covered in subtle clues that are meant to trick smokers into thinking a particular brand is less dangerous than another. Adult smokers and nonsmokers in Ontario, Canada were asked to compare a variety of fictitious cigarette packages and to rate the perceived taste, tar delivery, and health risks based on the packaging. The study found that smokers tend to associate cigarettes labeled as ‘light’, ‘mild’, or ‘smooth’, and those in lighter colored packages as less harmful. Cigarettes in darker colored packages, and those labeled as ‘regular’ or ‘full flavor’ were perceived as more harmful. The lead author of the study suggests that cigarette packaging should be plain and contain no colors, no logos, and no pictures except for health warnings. He also suggests having a toll-free number for quitting and personal stories of health effects from tobacco use on cigarette packages. To read more about the study’s findings and suggestions, click here. Click here to read the full text of the study, which was published in the Journal of Public Health.

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Reports

New media & smoking cessation case studies
The Summer 2009 issue of Cases in Public Health Communication & Marketing features two case studies on the use of new media for tobacco cessation:  "Mobile Phones and the Internet as Quitting Smoking Aids" and "'Own Your C,' Colorado's Youth Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Campaign". Click here to access the case studies.

Grant will expand former smoker-led intervention program (GA & SC)
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has provided $3.1 million in funding to the effective Sister to Sister program which utilizes help from former smokers, nicotine patches, and a group support system to help women kick the habit. The funding for this intervention will help women who are living in public housing in Georgia and South Carolina to stop smoking. It is said that the program’s multi-level approach of building buy-in at the neighborhood level before moving on to peer-group and individual level strategies has contributed to its effectiveness. Click here to read more about the plans for this grant.

Affirmations offers help to quit smoking (MI)
A new campaign in Michigan is offering free nicotine patches and smoking cessation counseling. The campaign is being launched by Affirmations, a nonprofit organization that has collaborated with the Michigan Department of Community Health, Tobacco Division (MDCH, Tobacco Division). Affirmations provides support and unconditional acceptance for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and cultures. Click here for more information regarding the quit-smoking program.

Body Worlds teams up with anti-smoking advocates (NY)
The Buffalo Museum of Science and the Body Worlds exhibit have teamed up with the Erie Niagara Tobacco Free Coalition to present “I Quit,” a campaign promoting anti-smoking awareness. The exhibit’s creators conceived the campaign years ago upon finding that many visitors discarded their cigarette packages after seeing a display of two sets of lungs:  one healthy and the other blackened and diseased by years of smoking. Coalition representatives are on site to assist smokers who are inspired by the lung display to quit smoking. An “Age Machine” that takes a person’s picture and manipulates the image to show the damaging changes that occur after years of smoking has also been added to the exhibit. Click here to read more about the campaign.

Oklahoma State University study puts ex-smokers’ cigarettes to use (OK)
A smoker attempting to quit the habit usually finds the final cigarette in the pack to be their “last” cigarette. Smokers usually believe it to be wasteful not to complete an entire pack. A researcher at Oklahoma State University has identified a solution for this: donate the unused cigarettes to science. The donated cigarettes will be used for research to help others stop smoking and to help understand the impact of visual cues on an addict’s brain. The cessation treatment that the research team is working on is called brand-fading, which allows smokers to wean themselves from cigarettes by lowering nicotine levels, by smoking only cigarette brands they dislike, and using nicotine patches. Read more here.

Washington ad campaign for low income smokers now on-line (WA)
The Washington State Department of Health’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program has launched an on-line tobacco cessation campaign targeting low income, low educated working adults. To increase quit attempts is the campaign goal, andthe motto is “No one can make me quit but me.”  People who smoke were taped writing and reading letters to themselves saying why it is time to break free from tobacco. The eight Dear Me ads were originally created to run on television, but budget cuts and a “no paid media” special order from the WA Legislature pushed the campaign onto the newly revitalized cessation Web site – www.quitline.com. To view the ads, click on Dear Me, and then scroll down to the eight ads. There is also an option to view additional two-minute videos that go with each ad. DVDs of the ads are available by e-mailing Scott Schoengarth.

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International

Adult smoking rate off for 14th year (Japan)
An annual survey conducted by Japan Tobacco Inc. showed that the percentage of adult smokers in Japan has fallen to 24.9%, down 0.8 points from the previous year. This marks the fourteenth straight year of a record low. Additionally, the smoking rate for men, at 38.9%, is on a decline for its 18th consecutive year, while the rate for women went down one point from last year to 11.9%. Multiple factors seem to be involved in the decline, such as an increase in health awareness and stricter smoking regulations. Click here for more on the survey results.

NHS smoking cessation therapies are effective, review finds (U.K.)
A study in the Journal of Public Health reviewed twenty studies and found that intensive smoking cessation services provided by the U.K. National Health Service (NHS) were more effective compared to less intensive, pharmacy delivered interventions. Two of the studies indicated that group treatment for smoking cessation is more effective than one to one treatment. The study also found that buddy support interventions, where smokers pair up to support each other, can more than double the quit rate in certain types of treatment. The researchers have concluded that the NHS smoking cessation services are effective in supporting smokers to quit in the short and longer term. Read more about the research here. Click here for an abstract of the study.

Only half of smokers enjoy it, survey finds (U.K.)
In a survey of smokers carried out by Cancer Research U.K., 50% of those questioned said they smoke for enjoyment, and 47% said they smoked to cope with stress. The study’s findings were released on the same day that the Office of National Statistics (ONS) announced that while public support for smokefree laws is high, fewer people agree with the smoking ban in bars than in restaurants. In the ONS survey, about 31% of smokers stated they would like to give up smoking because they could not afford it or it was a waste of money. Jean King of Cancer Research UK announced that understanding the many reasons why people smoke is vital in creating successful smoking cessation programs. Read more about the two studies here. Click here to read the abstract of the Cancer Research UK study in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, or click here to read the report on smoking-related behaviors and attitudes from the ONS.

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